Saeb Erekat
Saeb ErekatReuters

Saeb Erekat, Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) said on Sunday that “occupation” has effectively destroyed and ended all signed agreements, the Wafa news agency reports.

Speaking during a meeting with a delegation of American church members and American and European university professors in Jericho, Erekat claimed that Israel attempts to impose new terms of reference to entrench and consolidate the “occupation”, as well as attempts to replace the principle of the two states on the 1967 borders with acquiescence and accepting the continuation of occupation.

Erekat stressed the adherence of the PLO to international law, international legitimacy, and the Arab peace initiative, as reflected in the vision presented by Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas to the UN Security Council on February 20, 2018.

His comments come three days after Abbas announced that the PA would stop implementing its agreements with Israel.

Abbas said that the PA would not agree to have dictates imposed on them and to establish a reality on the ground by means of force, especially in Jerusalem.

Despite the announcement, however, analysts were quick to question whether Abbas seriously intended to deliver on the threat, which has been made several times in the past.